From Russia? Great Britain discovers espionage sensors on the seabed

Suspicious sensors

Great Britain makes explosive finds on the sea floor

Russia probably spies out the sea in front of Europe with sensors and drones. The British Navy, on the other hand, takes place with a specially equipped ship.

The British Navy has presumably discovered several Russian sensors that were apparently placed for monitoring British atomic submarines. According to “Sunday Times”, some of the devices were rinsed ashore, others were found by the Royal Navy special ships on the sea floor. The sensors are intended to collect movement data of the four British Vanguard submarines that are equipped with nuclear weapons and are in constant use for deterrent.

The discovery is an explosive policy. The find has not yet been officially confirmed, but government districts are grading it as a potential threat.

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According to the “Sunday Times” research, the placement of such devices is part of a wider Russian campaign of the hybrid warfare in the gray area area. The aim is therefore not only military goals, but also critical civilian infrastructures: lower sea internet cable, energy pipelines and communication connections.

In the Baltic Sea, important telecommunications and power cables have been damaged several times in February 2022 in the Baltic Sea. Experts assume that they are hybrid attacks against the West on behalf of Russia. Moscow rejects this.

According to the report, Great Britain has observed increasing Russian underwater activities for years. In addition to sensors, unmanned vehicles were discovered near deep sea cables, and there are also indications of superyaches of Russian oligarchs that could have been used for espionage.

A high-ranking British military employee spoke of a “War in the Atlantic” in the “Sunday Times”: “It is a cat-and-mouse game that has lasted since the end of the Cold War and is now heating up again.” The attacks on the North Stream pipeline and several damaged internet cables in the Baltic Sea are therefore part of this strategy.

The special ship RFA Proteus was put into service for defense. It is a converted Norwegian supply ship that has been part of the Royal Navy fleet since October 2023. The Proteus is equipped with a moon pool, a deep -sea -compatible crane and several remote -controlled and autonomous underwater vehicles. These vehicles can be equipped with cameras, sonar or manipulator and operate at a depth of up to 1,000 meters. Specialized mining and diving teams, including the X-Ray Squadron, train on board to identify, recover or destroy suspicious objects on the sea floor.

According to the report, the British government plans to expand the underwater infrastructure. In the future, companies could be obliged to take into account the surveillance financially. In addition, investments in new surveillance systems and autonomous vehicles are planned.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense emphasized that they work closely with NATO partners to prevent Russian operations. The country’s nuclear deterrence is still “undiscovered”.

It is unclear whether Russia could actually collect data with the help of the sensors or unmanned systems. However, according to the report, it is clear to the Ministry of Defense: The threat is real.